2014 Nissan Leaf Will Cost Less, Go Wireless, Travel Further, Be Smarter

By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield is a self-confessed petrol head. She grew up in a carless family but was able at a very early age to name cars passing her on... More

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Nissan Leaf Inductive Charging Demonstration

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Last week we told you that Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, would be including wireless inductive charging on the option list for its first electric car. 

Now Nissan has confirmed that the 2014 Leaf will also be able to wirelessly recharge itself using a suitable inductive charging station, doing away with those pesky power cables for good.  

Demonstrated at Nissan’s Oppama plant ahead of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Leafs equipped with wireless inductive charging technology can still make use of regular and rapid charging stations that use a plug to deliver power, but can also charge using a wireless receiver placed under the car’s load-bay floor. 

Just like wireless charging solutions being developed by other automakers, including Daimler, BMW, Volvo, Ford and Toyota among others, the Nissan induction charging system will require parking spaces to be retrofitted with dedicated charging stations capable of transferring power to the car via a floor-mounted induction pad. 

Nissan Leaf Inductive Charging Demonstration

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According to Autobloggreen, the inductive charging technology is around 80 to 90 percent efficient and can provide between 3 and 6 kilowatts of power to recharge the Leaf. 

For those taking notes, 3 kilowatts is the current limit of the 2012 Nissan Leaf’s on-board charger, while future models will be limited to a 6 kilowatt on-board charger. 

In other words, while wireless technology will win geek points due to its lack of wires, anyone wanting to charge their 2014 Nissan Leaf quickly will have to resort to ye olde fashioned rapid charging plug to juice up in under 30 minutes. 

The news about Nissan’s second-generation Leaf doesn’t stop there, however.  

2011 Nissan Leaf SL

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According to the rumor mill at AutoExrpess  the 2014 Nissan Leaf will boast a whole lot more than the ability to recharge wirelessly: it will cost less , travel further and even be able to power your home. 

Citing an anonymous source at Nissan, AutoExpress claims the 2014 Nissan Leaf will feature a bigger, more powerful battery pack capable of giving the car a much better range. Combined with other improvements in the car’s design, the anonymous source said the Leaf will become even more affordable with an impressive drop in sticker price for the 2014 model.  

Sadly, AutoExpress’ anonymous source wouldn’t speculate on how big that price drop would be, but when Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee plant starts to produce 2013 Nissan Leafs towards the end of 2012, we think a drop in sticker price is highly likely.  

There’s also an outside possibility that Nissan will chose to bring its recently unveiled Vehicle-to-house system to the U.S., meaning those who opt for the $6,500 system could power their homes from their Leaf in an emergency.

Although the system is primarily designed for the Japanese market, we’d assume it could easily be adapted to the U.S. power grid to offer Leaf owners a backup power supply in areas hit by extreme weather. 

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